Maher heads for Washington
Egypt-USA, Politics, 11/27/2001

The Egyptian Foreign Minster Ahmed Maher heads today to Washington on a several days' visit to meet with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, US National Security Advisor Condeleezza Rice in addition to US administration senior officials, Arab, US and Jewish organizations leaderships. Talks will dwell on efforts exerted to resume peace negotiations and to explain Egypt's point of view towards the latest developments in the region.

Prior to his departure, Maher received American Ambassador to Egypt David Welch to examine the issues he will raise with the American administration.

"Topping the agenda will be the Middle East and the best way to translate into reality the address by US Secretary of State Colin Powell and the positive points it contained, such as his reference to the (Israeli) occupation and the need for its termination. To Egypt, the main problem lies with the Israeli occupation of other peoples' lands", he said after the meeting.

The US did not use this expression before, but today, the American Secretary of State is calling for an end to the occupation because it is the core problem, he added.

Maher said that the Powell address contained other significant terms, such as the importance of respecting the dignity of Palestinians and protecting them from daily humiliations.

"Egypt has complained of all the Israeli malpractices in addition to the killings, the destruction of homes, the uprooting of trees and the personal humiliation of Palestinians", he added.

"In his speech last Monday at the university of Louisville in Kentucky, Powell also spoke of the principles for a settlement such as the land for peace, and the UN resolutions," Maher said adding that Powell also addressed what the Palestinians face at the hands of Jewish settlers and the Israeli malpractices.

Maher said he will raise these issues with American officials in Washington and will express Egypt's appreciation of the Powell position and the importance of translating his speech into reality.

It is Egypt's duty to affirm to Washington the importance of taking positive action towards this end, he said.

In his talks with Welch, Maher said they also spoke of the current situation and developments in Afghanistan as well as the assistance the Afghan people who are badly in need of help after the fall of the Taliban.

They also examined bilateral relations and the needed framework for this relationship, he said, adding that the Egyptian-American partnership was linked to a person, namely former American Vice President A1 Gore.

There is a need to find a new shape for this partnership, and this matter will be examined in Washington, he added.

On Egypt's position towards the latest Israeli propaganda campaign to poison the American-Iraqi atmosphere and Israeli claims that Hizbullah was receiving assistance from Iraq, Maher said that Israel has in the past few days resorted to escalate acts of violence practiced against Palestinians such as the detonation of bombs as children go to schools or the assassination of Palestinian activists and the shelling of Gaza.

It seems that this is not only meant to defy the US alone, but also to provoke some Palestinian organizations to respond to such provocations and this is what Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wants, he said.

Egypt has spoken to American and British officials on the dangers of this issue, he added.

Sharon is also inciting Arab countries and he knows that this issue is extremely sensitive and that Egypt had warned against expanding the scope of the present campaign on Afghanistan to other countries and that such a development would bear grave results, he said.

Maher said he is visiting Washington upon President Hosni Mubarak's instructions to expound Egypt's position on the various issues.

He denied there was any tension in the American-Egyptian relationship, noting that reports in the US press were not expressive of the views of the American administration, and thus there is no tension between the two countries, he said.

Previous Stories:
  Mubarak, Congress delegation discuss means of putting peace process back to track   (11/20/2001)
  US foreign relation council agrees on establishing institutional relations with Egypt   (11/20/2001)
  Mubarak receives today U.S. Congress delegation   (11/19/2001)

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